Daniel and Jane Mullen seek to void various contracts and to prevent the sale of eight slaves. John James's 1817 will left to his daughter Polly half of his property, "excepting his Land;" his wife Jane inherited a life estate in the rest of the property. James also gave Jane two slave women "Rachael and Mayson with their increase to be hers absolutely." When the widowed Jane married Daniel Mullen, Polly's husband, Dr. Austin, took "great offence," so he prosecuted Mullen for bigamy. Jane claims that, "as the said Daniel Mullen was a foreigner and Stranger, many persons were induced to believe the truth of the charge." Unable to provide a surety in the case, Daniel was jailed. When Mullen finally managed to secure his court appearance to face the bigamy charge, Austin got a writ of ne exeat against both Daniel and Jane. He then offered to sell his wife's future claim to Jane's share of the estate and drop all legal proceedings. Unable to pay the required security and facing the renewed threat of jail, Jane and Daniel signed notes and mortgaged the property back to Austin to secure said notes. Now Austin is trying to foreclose the mortgage and has taken several slaves to sell to satisfy the debt. Citing fraud, an 1829 trust agreement, and Jane's status as a feme covert, the Mullens ask that the notes be voided and the mortgage set aside. They also ask that the defendants be enjoined from selling said slaves.
Result: Partially granted; dismissed and injunction dissolved.
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Repository: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina
